Carton



C. H. LOWE July 18, 1939.

CARTON Filed July 10, 1937 35 i X J k J CarZHZOLUG,

Patented July 18, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CARTON Illinois Application July 10, 1937, Serial No. 152,985

4 Claims.

The present invention relates to cellular cartons of the type customarily employed in packaging eggs.

A principal object of the invention is the provision of an improved cellular carton of the onepiece type in which the carton easily may be set up or erected by hand.

An additional object is to provide a cellular carton having top and bottom walls and a horizontal intermediate wall provided with openings for receiving eggs and end cross partitions out from the material of the intermediate wall and rotatable into erect position to provide end closures as well as top wall bracing members.

These and other objects will be observed from a consideration of the following specification, in

which there is described a preferred embodiment of the invention, and by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a top view of a carton constructed in accordance with the invention, the carton being shown with the cover open;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the carton taken along line 33 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a plan View of a blank from which the carton is constructed.

In my copending application, Serial No. 137,446,

filed April 17, 1937, there is described a carton of the chain cell type in which a series of cross partitions are joined by a single longitudinally extending horizontal connecting strip. The cross partitions of the chain cell are hinged at an intermediate point to the longitudinally extending strips. When the cross partitions are rotated into erect position the horizontal connecting strip moves with the cross partitions. In accordance with the present invention a horizontal egg-receiving section is hingedly connected to end cross partitions and to the front and rear walls of the carton, the end cross partitions being rotatable into erect position without movement of the eggreceiving section.

45 As shown in Fig. 4, the carton of the present invention is produced from a blank which is cut and scored to provide a cover-locking section ID having marginal hooks II, a top l2, a rear wall 13, a bottom section M, a front wall.l5, an eggreceiving section indicated generally at [5, and an attaching strip 11. It will be understood that the portions of the blank referred to are separated from the adjacent portions by means of suitable score lines. In producing the carton the blank 55 is formed in the manner shown in Fig. 4 and is folded along the score line between the bottom wall l4 and the front wall 15, the attaching strip I! then being glued to the rear wall l3 while the carton is in flattened condition.

The front and rear walls l3 and I5 are pro- 5 vided with a series of tabs l8 which are cut from the materialof the bottom wall and provide for spacing the bottom wall from a surface upon which the carton is positioned, as will be seen from Figs. 2 and 3. The bottom wall I4 is cut 10 to provide spaced openings H! which are parallel to the ends of the bottom member and positioned adjacent the ends thereof.

When the carton is squared from collapsed position the intermediate egg-receivng section l5 it forms a wall about half-way between the top and bottom of the carton, this Wall being parallel to the bottom, as will be seen in Figs. 2 and 3. The wall I6 is provided with egg-receiving cutout sections 20 positioned symmetrically so as to receive three rows of eggs having four eggs in each row, this type of carton being known in the industry as the 3 x 4 carton. The intermediate. wall I6 is connected to the front wall by a series of hinge sections 2| and also is connected 5 to the attaching strip H by similar series of hinge sections 22.

Along the front wall it is possible to provide for upstanding tabs 23-by allowing some of the material cut away to produce the egg-receiving 30 openings 20 adjacent the front wall to remain on the front wall. These upstanding tabs 23 he adjacent the cover-locking strip l0 when the cover of the carton is closed and the hooks II are secured beneath the attaching strips 2|.

The section I6 is cut to provide a cross partition 24 adjacent one end of the carton and a similar but oppositely disposed cross partition 25 adjacent the other member of the carton. As the two cross partitions are similar in construction the same reference numerals have been applied to the parts thereof. The cross partitions are connected to the front wall by triangular hinges 26 and to the attaching strip I! by the triangular hinges 21, the connection to the cross partitions being along a score line. The cross partitions are joined to the non-rotating part of the eggreceiving section 16, as shown at 28, the connection being along score lines which preferably are positioned in line with the hinges 26 and 21. Be-' low the hinge sections of the end cross partitions are the downwardly extending partition-interlocking sections 29. Above the lines along which the cross partitions are joined to the section l5 are the cover-supporting sections 30.

In erecting the carton from its collapsed position the walls are squared into rectangular crosssection and the cross partitions 24 and 25 are rotated in opposite directions so that the coversupporting structures are positioned beneath the cover of the carton and the lower portions 29 of the cross partitions are positioned as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 with the hook elements 3| thereon engaging the bottom of the carton through the openings 58. It will be seen that the downwardly depending portions 29 of the cross partitions are cut from the material which is removed to provide the egg-receiving openings 20. The

hooks 3| on the cross partitions and the openings IS in the bottom Wall of the carton provide interlocking means whereby the cross partitions are maintained in an erect position to provide a secure end closure.

As shown, the hook elements 3| are in tapered formation, but in many cases it will be desirable to provide hook portions instead of or in addition to these elements forengaging beneath the material of the bottom section through the openings i9, thereby affordingdirect support to the bottom. Also, such hook elements may be employed to maintain the bottom in upwardly raised cushion-forming position somewhat as described and shown in Troyk Patent No. 1,766,155.

The cross partitions are oppositely disposed with respect to each other and, as before stated, are rotated into erect position in opposite directions. The erection of the carton is quite simple and may be done by hand at a very rapid rate. All that is necessary is to rotate the two cross partitions into erect position after squaring the wall structure of the carton. 'When erected, the section [6 will be seen to provide a series of spaced transverse strips having egg-receiving openings therebetween and a series of spaced longitudinal strips integral with the transversely extending strips. The transverse strips are hingedly connected to the front and rear walls of the carton and the cross partitions are hingedly connected to the front and rear Walls and to the longitudinal strips of the section 16.

In this carton the horizontal strips comprising the section 16 do not move upon movement of the cross partitions and the cellular structure of the carton is provided by the horizontal strips. The material of the section [6 about the eggreceiving openings may be provided with cuts, which will allow the material to bend upon engagement with eggs carried in the carton, thereby cushioning the impact of the eggs with the material surrounding the egg-receiving openings.

Many other changes in the structure of the carton as described herein are possible without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim: I

1. A carton of the type described, comprising front and rear walls, a bottom wall, an intermediate rigid non-rotatable egg-receiving wall having horizontally and longitudinally spaced openings and extending between and being connected to said front and rear walls, and cross partitions hingedly connected to said intermediate wall and to said front and rear walls, said cross partitions being rotatable into erect position and having means for engaging the wall structure of the carton for maintaining said partitions in erect position.

2. A carton of the type described, comprising a single blank cut, scored and folded to form a rear wall, a bottom wall, a front wall, an intermediate rigidly attached non-rotatable eggreceiving section, an attaching strip secured to the rear wall, said egg-receiving section having horizontally and longitudinally spaced openings for individual eggs, and rotatable cross partitions adjacent the ends of the carton, said cross partitions having outer sections extending transversely of the carton and being positioned above said intermediate strip and adjacent the top of the carton when in erect position.

3. A carton of the type described, comprising front, rear and bottom walls, a substantially horizontal non-rotating intermediate wall having egg-receiving openings therein, and end cross partitions rotatably attached to said intermediate wall and extending above and below said wall when in erect position.

4. A carton of the type described, comprising front, rear and bottom walls, a substantially horizontal non-rotating intermediate wall having egg-receiving openings therein, and end cross partitions rotatably attached to said intermediate 3 wall, said end cross partitions including an integral strip above said intermediate wall and spaced strips below said intermediate wall and having means for engaging the wall structure of the carton.

CARL H. LOWE. 

